One Adventure Ends, Another Begins
by Black Knight 03
Summary: After returning from an expedition with his father, Mack uses a case of coins they recovered as an excuse to visit Rose in London. One-shot Mack-Rose


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Disclaimer – Disney owns Power Rangers.

A/N – This is a little one-shot that popped in to my head after finishing watching Operation Overdrive. It is set a few months after the finale. I originally wrote this in the beginning of the year, right after the series ended, but had some delays in the editing process.

"Mack!"

Mr. Hartford's voice could be heard through out the first floor of Hartford Manor, searching for his son. Late last night, the two had returned from an expedition to a sunken vessel in the Pacific.

Entering the kitchen, he found Spencer, with his back turned to him, and leaning over a pot on the stove.

"Good morning, sir," Spencer said without turning around, "or rather afternoon."

Mr. Hartford grinned a little at his long time butler. "We didn't get in until well after midnight," he said as he walked towards the stove. "Speaking of which, as Mack gotten up yet?" he asked pouring himself a cup of coffee.

"Up, dressed, feed, and left," Spencer answered while using a large wooden spoon to stir some kind of sauce.

"Left? But we were supposed to bring the case of coins we brought back to the museum," Mr. Hartford said as he rubbed his stubbled chin.

As he stirred, Spencer nodded. "And Master Mack as taken the case to have it studied."

"To the museum?"

"No, sir," Spencer added. "London. Took the S.H.A.R.C. right after a bit of breakfast."

Mr. Hartford did a double take for a moment. "London? Spencer, why did Mack take them all the way to London?" he asked, putting the coffee cup down on the table top.

"I believe I'd already told you, sir. To have the coins studied… by a close friend," he answered, a sly smile beginning to form on his face.

"Spencer," Mr. Hartford started to warn, believing there was more to this than he was being told.

"Think on it for a moment, sir. Why would your son travel all the way to London, when he could've simply have gone downtown?" Spencer asked rhetorically as he reached for some fresh basil to throw in to the sauce.

Thinking about it for a moment, Mr. Hartford saw the piece he had missed before; he just didn't understand the significance of it yet. "Of course," he exclaimed, realizing it had been staring him in the face. "Rose, she's teaching in London again. It'll take her far less time then the museum curators to date those coins."

Spencer shook his head in disbelief for a moment. "Yes, sir. But there is more to it than just that." Letting his sauce simmer, Spencer placed the wooden spoon down and turned to regard his employer and long time friend. "Since saving the Corona Aurora, Master Mack as begun to be a bit lonely. Now, don't misunderstand me, he enjoys the time with you immensely, but he also misses his friends."

Mr. Hartford nodded understandingly. "Of course. You know, Will is supposed to be in the Bay Area next week; we should invite him down for dinner. And, I think Ronnie has a race here in a few weeks."

Spencer sighed softly, as Mr. Hartford went on. Finally interrupting him, Spencer knew he'd have to spell it out for him. "Yes, sir, your son misses _all_ his friends. But if I may be presumptuous, sir, there's one in particular that he misses most."

Stopping, Mr. Hartford looked at him with a confused expression. "Honestly, sir. The signs are right in front of you," Spencer said starting to get exasperated.

_Who would Mack favor above the rest? He's seems pretty close to all of them. _As Mr. Hartford ponder this, his eye caught the Manor's phone bill laid out on the nearby counter top. Still thinking, he ran his eye over the list of calls made in the last month. Most were made by him about one thing or another, but he noticed quite a few were international calls that he didn't remember making. "Why would I call the same number in London twenty times?" he asked, inspecting the bill more closely.

"Why indeed, sir?" Spencer asked, now boiling water in a second pot. "_But_, who is to say that it is you making the calls?"

Mr. Hartford let out a laugh at Spencer's statement. It was usually him who made the arrangements for their trips, Mack was still learning. "Why would Mack call London-" Just as he was saying it, he remembered what Spencer had said before, and the puzzle pieces fell in to place, revealing the image the puzzle made.

Spencer grinned to himself as he saw the proud, fatherly look that appeared on his face.

"Mack and Rose?" he asked more to himself than for confirmation from Spencer.

"Well, not yet," Spencer said. "But poor Master Mack is still learning how to do many things, and I don't believe romantic relationships were a part of his prior programming."

"I'll have to talk to him, when he comes back," Mr. Hartford said. "But why do you say poor Mack?"

With a wry smile, Spencer turned back to his cooking. "Because, in the short time I've known the young lady, I don't believe Ms. Rose is going to wait for him to properly learn the skills."

"Ah," Mr. Harford said with a confirming nod. "I'll be in my study, Spencer," he said with a laugh. "And if my son returns in one piece," he said sarcastically, "tell him I'd like to talk to him about a few things."

"Yes, sir."

* * *

After a short flight over, and an even quicker cab ride, at least by Mack's view, to the main campus of the University of London, Mack stood around in awe. Trying to take in everything at once, he felt a little bit overwhelmed.

In one hand, he held a thin steel case containing the coins his father and he had taken from the shipwreck for study, and in his other hand, was held a flyer he had picked up. _Rose Ortiz, Lecture on Advanced Robotics, Lecture Hall One._

_Where the hell is Lecture Hall One?_ he asked himself as he began walking.

"I'll find it… eventually," Mack muttered to himself as he looked around for any clues. "More importantly, what am I going to say," he continued, keeping his voice a soft mumble, not wanting anyone else to over hear him. "Something cool, something that makes me sound like I have an idea of what I'm doing.

"I should've talked to Will." _Yea, cause he did such a great job with helping Tyzonn,_ he thought to himself sarcastically.

Passing by a library, Mack was so lost in thought, that he didn't notice Rose walking out of its main doors. He didn't even hear her surprise cry of his name as she tried to waive him over. Snickering to herself, Rose could tell he was deep in thought about something. So rather than try to get his attention again, she jogged after him, intending to shadow him for a little bit. Staying a few feet behind, she could hear him muttering to himself. _So what as the young adventurer so lost in thought? A pirate map? A ghost story?_

Looking at his backside for a moment, she grinned to herself as she kept an ear to his voice, but enjoyed the view for a moment. Giggling softly to herself, hoping Mack wouldn't hear, she spotted the case he was carrying. _Must be the coins he was talking about._

"What am I going to say? Hey, beautiful, how've you been?" Mack asked himself aloud, tying to sound sophisticated and suave. Instead, he simply shook his head at the corny sound of his words, not even aware of Rose walking in his steps. "What do I even know about her?

"She's a genius, pretty, funny."

As Mack continued to mutter to himself, Rose found herself getting jealous of whoever Mack was trying to describe. The jealously was short lived however, when she overheard Mack say the girl's name. A wide smile appeared on her face when she heard her name.

"That's all superficial. What do I really know about Rose?

"What's her favorite color? Pink? Favorite food? Flower?"

Unable to keep quiet anymore, Rose answered his questions. "I'm not really that fond of pink, maybe purple… or red," she said, teasing him a little about the color red. She giggled again when Mack jerked in surprise and spun around. The look on his face when he saw her was priceless; it was a mix of surprise, happiness, and perhaps a bit of fear.

"What? Uh? Rose!"

Grinning up at him, "Your questions. I'd have to say my favorite type of food is Thai, and my favorite flower would probably be an orchid."

"I… How long have you been following me?" he asked a little too harshly. "I mean, how much did you overhear?" Mack added hastily, hoping he didn't just anger her.

"Enough," Rose answered smugly. _He's adorable when he's completely lost,_ she mused to herself. Linking her arm with Mack's, she turned him around and lead him back the way he came. "We can discuss just _what_ I over heard on the way back to the library, so I can take a look at those coins.

"Then, we can go to dinner, and I'll show you around London," Rose said while grinning up at him as they walked back across the campus. "Afterwards," she told him with a knowing grin, "well, we'll see what happens."


End file.
